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[img]https://i.imgur.com/fTD5yRH.png[/img]

[color=black][b]0 MP/0 FP [/b][/color]

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[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/357353496057610242/531937501057777664/sym1A1.png?width=240&height=301[/img]

 0FP/4MP

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A red winged blackbird trilled loudly amid the scattered sounds of the other morning birds. Each song easing Orvus awake. With a sleepy sigh, his eyes finally peeled open. He stretched, and then froze in confusion. He was staring straight up, a wooden ceiling above him, and his arms that were held up to stretch had hands stuck to the ends of them -- [i]the flesh kind[/i]. His back was perfectly supported on a cushioned mattress and a pillow supported his head -- [i]The kind with short black hair![/i]

The morning sun peeked through his glass paneled window, filling his quant room with the rustic smell of sun soaked wood. 

Confusion jostled his groggy mind to alertness, as Orvus looked around at the unfamiliar room he found himself in. He looked at his hands with disbelief, as he balled his fingers into fists over and over. This was not how he looked, not some flesh covered creature. Slowly he brought his hands up to touch his face, and he felt...he felt hair. His chin was covered in thick, coarse hairs. A beard? When had he grown a beard? How did he even know what such a thing was? He let his hand feel upwards, and they gently felt his flesh. His skin was sunkissed, but still retained a semblance of youth. Orvus went on to feel his nose, his ears, and finally the hair atop his head. He drank in the sensations like a fine wine before letting out a satisfied sigh.

His hands fell down upon silky sheets and he took in the room again with new perspective. It was… homely and quant. A pleasant smell wafted throughout, and at the foot of the bed rested a small animal, sleeping quietly. That was not the only thing at the foot of the bed however, something else lay under the sheets, and Orvus turned to see that he was not alone in the room.

Beside him laid a woman, who he somehow remembered, from her mahogany hair to the band of gold on her finger. As he stared at her sleeping form, memories rushed through his mind, from meeting on the old bridge for the first time, to a very special winter seven cycles ago now. A fuzzy feeling tickled his chest as he stared and eventually the woman turned to him and smiled, “we slept in.” Her voice was like honey, and as she spoke, her name materialized in Orvus’ mind. 

Quickly his eyes snapped the the scene outside, her words resonating. It was merely fourthsday, by no means the day of rest and outside he could spot some of his neighbors and work hands already tending to his fields, the black coated oxen straining. 

“It doesn’t feel too warm,” Orvus’ wife sat up, shaking out a knot in her hair, “probably going to be a mild one today -- what?”

Her eyes pierced his as she noticed him staring. 

“I…” Orvus paused, before a smirk set upon his lips which turned into a smile as he continued to stare.

“Rowan.” He spoke her name, letting it flow out of his mouth. The mere thought of her name made his smile grow wider. He probably looked like some fool, but he didn’t care. Why would he with the one he-

“What?” she asked, returning a smile that gave him butterflies still, even after all these years. She was older now, but like a fine wine, she grew more beautiful each passing day. He leaned in, placing a kiss upon her cheek, before pulling back to look at her again with a soft expression.

“Oh, nothing.” Orvus said, “I just had the strangest dream. Waking up felt…” He paused, unsure of what to say but quickly continued, “I’m just happy to wake up next to you.”

“They happen to the best of us,” She smiled as she slid out of bed. Standing up she stretched, letting her hand rest on a slightly pronounced abdomen, Orvus remembering her pregnancy. Her face suddenly twisted, “should we eat breakfast or lunch?”

Orvus watched her lithe figure, and his excitement grew as he saw her belly. Having a third child hadn’t really been planned, but who was he to go against fate? Besides, maybe this one would finally be a boy. Not that he had anything against women, or his own daughters, but there was just something right about having a kid to continue the family line.

He shook his head, and got up as well. He wrapped his arms around Rowan’s belly, embracing her with a hug as he placed his chin a top her head.

He sighed, “Nothing for me right now, dear. There’s too much work to be done. Me and the boys still have to plow the south field and don’t even get me started on the other chores. With any luck, the twins have started have milked the cows, fed the chickens, and fetched some water.” He said aloud, before the both started laughing. 

“You know them,” Rowan began, “They probably saw us sleeping in and decided to go play in the forest or get into trouble. They have too much of their father in them I think.” she said smiling.

“Oh? And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Orvus said playfully before tickling her on the sides, her weak spot. As Rowan began to squirm with laughter, desperately trying to escape his grasp, Orvus spoke between his own chuckling, “Trouble you say? I think the only person here in trouble is you my dear!” And they both fell back onto the bed in a tangle that eventually ended up with lots of kissing. 

When they finally calmed down after a long, deep kiss. Orvus looked into Rowan’s amber colored eyes and felt a connection unlike anything he had ever felt. He began to speak, “I l-” but was quickly interrupted by a knock on the front door. That was most likely Hank, his lead farmhand wondering what in the hell was keeping him so long.

He let out another sigh, “I should probably go. I don’t want too, but, I don’t think letting Hank run the place is the best idea.”

She squinted at him playfully, “get yer ass to work.”

He got up slowly, reaching the closet for some worn work clothes. As he changed he spoke to his wife with his back turned. “Now, need I remind you to not do anything extraneous or have my constant bickerings finally found a home in that beautiful head of yours?”

Before Rowan could answer, there was another heavy knock on the door and the woman pursed her lips, “don’t worry about me, go see Hank.”

He made his way to the door, before looking back at Rowan again. Orvus smiled, and she smiled back as he walked away to the front door. The knocking came again, and Orvus shouted, “Come on Hank, can’t let a guy catch up on some sleep!” before he opened the front door.

“Well I’m sorry if the plowing doesn’t want to wait!” A large bear of a man growled in a voice much lighter than one would expect, “not that I doubt there was any lack of that going on in here.” He squinted his eyes before cracking a cheeky smile, summoning a blush from Orvus.

Big Hank waved a tree like arm, “come on, the new hands are shit and I gotta tell you my oldest’s dream he had last night, it’s a wild one.” 

The two large men walked down the oak porch and onto a worn dirt path towards the large barn. As they meandered, he took in his little plot of land for the umpteenth time. It was modest but housed many green things. From apple trees, to berry bushes and a plentiful amount of sweet flowers. It was home and he had all he could ever want with it.

Orvus then looked at Hank, perplexed by the idea of another wild dream. He wondered if it was anything like his own, but that would have to wait a moment. There was other priorities to contend with first before stories.

“Hey you ain’t happened to see my own kids have you? Please tell me they did their chores, Hank. I don’t think I can handle another trip into the woods to find Lily’s missing doll. Only for it to be in the barn. I swear, those girls will be the death of me someday.” Orvus said warmly.  

Hank furrowed his brow, “I think I saw them working on the chickens earlier, but then the new hand got his pants stuck under one of the screws on the plow and I had to go cut him loose, the moron...”

As Hank continued to droll on, something caught Orvus’ eye and has he turned to look, he noticed a dark figure sitting atop one of the grassy hills overlooking the cottage, a single large tree overhead. 

Orvus stopped in his tracks and squinted to see who, or what was under the tree. Hank stopped with Orvus and then nodded, “Ah, yup, a wayward that one. Stumbled into town this morning, been enjoying the view ever since.”

Orvus looked at Hank, “Enjoying the view of my land? Of my house? Dontcha think that’s a bit… Oh I don’t know, strange?” he asked sarcastically. Still, he didn’t mind strangers as long as they kept to themselves, but he felt odd about this one. Hopefully his girls were somewhere out of his view.

“Eh,” Hank grunted, “Yeah, but he was awfully polite and yous are always saying to be nicer to travelers. Don’t you worry, old Keiran has been watching him from his rocker.”

“Not like he can do much else nowadays,” Hank muttered. 

He felt a little relief at that fact and began to walk again, “Come on old friend, we got too much work to do to worry about that right now. Let’s just trust Keiran, for what’s it worth. I’m sure he’ll hollar if something is amiss, or he’ll falls asleep. Best not to worry about it.” Orvus finished with a half hearted smile. He couldn’t shake the odd feeling he had, but he couldn’t let it get in the way of the day.

The pair continued their walk, as they did every day, but instead of walking into the barn to wrangle the work horses, Orvus suddenly found his final footfall landing on a patch of grass. Confused the man looked around, he had unwittingly walked up the hill and now stood in front of the sitting man, he didn’t even remember doing it. Looking behind him he saw Hank in the distance, throwing a yolk over the beast of burden.

“W-What? How’d I get up here?” He asked aloud to no one, the odd sensation was growing stronger with each beat of his heart. He looked at the man and saw, a pale figure, dressed in gentlemanly black and wearing a big cheshire grin that unnervingly went up to his dark spiraling eyes.

“You walked, Orvus,” a grainy voice echoed between the two, though K’nell never opened his mouth.

“I walked...but I don’t remember…” He let his voice drop before asking, “Do I know you?” his voice suddenly unsure of itself, as he was slightly taken aback by the man’s appearance. Somehow, this man felt familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place the voice, or the clothing.

“But of course. I’m K’nell, your brother,” The voice turned between them, “Uncle to your little ones, and In-law to your bride. I’m family.” 

His eyebrows furrowed as the man talked. He was receiving some very unsettling vibes from the man. He was his brother? That wasn’t true, because Orvus had been an only child. No… wait… hadn’t he had a twin brother once? No, that wasn’t right either. 

Orvus shook his head before speaking, “Look, you must be confused with someone else, I’m an only child.” He took a step back, “I… Uh… gotta get back. It was nice meeting you, K’nell.” he said shakening. 

“You can’t leave yet,” K’nell shook his head, his grin never wavering, “you have work to do. A promise to fulfill.”

He stopped in his tracks, “Excuse me? I never made any promise with you. I’ve never even met you before! Now get out of here! I tried to be nice but I won’t be having this...this nonsense!” Orvus said angrily, barely recognizing his own voice. 

K’nell sat unwavering, “It wasn’t a promise to me, it was a promise to yourself. I am here to see if you will fulfill such a promise, though I must admit I’m bias in my hopes that you don’t.”

“What are you even talking about? What promise?” Orvus asked perplexed. K’nell had ignored his request to leave. Perhaps if he heard him out the man would go.

“You had promised to destroy, to spread desolation and reverse all of creation,” K’nell answered, “befitting that of the God of desolation.”

As his words rang between the two, a sort of door was unlocked inside Orvus’ mind, and a tiny trickle formed across his subconscious. It was chilling and cold, but it was honest and true.

“So,” K’nell continued, “I am here to see if you will do such a thing.”

Orvus began to remember, his mind unlocking memories like the beginnings of a soft rain. He was a god. A being of destruction. But that wasn’t true! It couldn’t be! He fell to his knees, grabbing his head. He had a life here, he had memories. Good memories, happy thoughts. He was a friend, a husband, and a father! Not some...some monster.

His voice began to waver, “W-What have you done to me!” he cried out. 

“I have given you an opportunity,” K’nell sat forward, “a chance. You made a choice once, you can now make it again.”

More memories flashed across his vision. Of anger. An asteroid. An explosion. A loss. A battle. Her screams. A...A promise.

He was Orvus. The God of Desolation, and he was crying. His hands fell forward and gripped the grass he could no longer feel. His voice broke as he spoke to his [i]brother[/i].

[color=black]”N-No no no no… What… Wha-What have you done...Why have you...this- this isn’t real...why isn’t this real?”[/color] he cried softly.

“It’s a possibility,” K’nell answered, “it’s as real as your choice here and now. A seed of truth in every dream, a whisper of reality in every detail: but do you destroy or do you create?”

He waved a hand over the cottage, “do you live?”

Seemingly oblivious to K’nell’s comment, he spoke aloud anyways, .[color=black]”Rowan...Lily...Ava…”[/color] his voice choked up, [color=black]”T-There not real. They never w-were.”[/color]

“They exist,” K’nell put a finger on Orvus’ forehead, “I found them.”

His mind was spinning with thoughts and emotions he had never even considered to be painful. Yet they were, and they hurt far worse than any physical blow. K’nell was...he was the god of dreams, so why then, did something that was going on in his head, hurt him so much? Orvus looked up at K’nell with raw eyes, tears still streaming down his face

[color=black]”Why would you… how could you … to me? This dream… why? Why make me feel so… so [i]wrong[/i]?”[/color]

“It is simply the result of a possibility. You now know both ends to both decisions,” K’nell stood up, “you could have all of this if you wanted, all it takes is one sacrifice, one repentance… but in the end... the choice. Is. Yours.”

[hider=Summary]

In his dream, Orvus awakens confused at his surroundings. It’s a small, homely room. He notices he’s not alone in the bed and it’s his wife. He’s also in a human form.

He remembers her name is Rowan, and they have two children together with another on the way. He has all of these memories and more of his human life.

Hank, a farmhand, interrupts a make-out sesh by banging on the front door. Much to his displeasure, Orvus knows he has to go work on the farm. He says goodbye to his wife and heads out.

Hank is a real hoot and they talk. Orvus then notices a figure overlooking his farm a top a grassy hill with a tree. He decides to let the figure be, but then suddenly finds himself under the tree with the stranger in his face.

It’s K’nell and he reminds Orvus of a promise he made, to destroy all life. He prompts him to destroy, but Orvus is unable to do so. The dream really putting a number on him as he is made to remember what he is.

Orvus breaks down as they talk further and our story ends. 

(If it makes any of you feel any better, Zee wrote most of the Rowan bits.)
(Also, Morrowind reference, yessir)

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[hider=Might Expenditure]

Started With: 0MP & 0FP

WHERE’S MY MIGHT

Portfolios:
10/10FP Towards Asteroids Unlock > Not Purchased
3/5 Towards Decay Unlock > Not available for Purchase.

K’nell both started and ended with 0FP and 4MP. That’s right, only four military police officers, the shame.

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